Everybody Loves Me
by FleetFan
Summary: James is a rich pop star who's made it big. Carlos is an "average" teen who gets bullied a lot. With the help of each of their best friends Logan and Kendall, could such different boys really fall in love?
1. Shadow in the Backseat

**This fanfiction is based off the song "Everybody Loves Me" by OneRepublic. If you've never heard it before, you should listen to it now. :) **

**Anyway, this story is going to be a bit out of my element, since I rarely write from James's POV, and I've never written Jarlos at that. But I'm hoping that this multichapter pleases those of you BTR fans who prefer the James/Carlos ship over other common shippings. Either way, have fun reading, and don't forget to review!**

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It was on a warm summer evening, which years later only a few would remember, that a fancy limousine came to a rest at a red streetlight, and the tanned face of a boy could be seen peering out through the bullet-proof window as it had many times before. His face was little more than a defined shadow, since the bullet-proof windows were tinted and difficult to see through from the outside, but his large sunglasses were clearly visible, shielding his narrowed eyes from view.

At that moment the car started up again and glided forward, not so much as moving him an inch from his position, one arm angled over a bent knee. But finally James lost interest and leaned back against the leather seats of the expensive limousine, ignoring the impressive city buildings of L.A as they continued to flit by.

Maybe it was just an illusion that his foolish mind perceived as real, but as the long, slender limo sped down the highway and past smaller, more rundown cars, it seemed to outstrip all of them one by one, its speed unmatched by any other vehicle or its passengers.

James felt the same of himself and others; he was superior to them, in both money and looks, and since childhood he'd seemed to overtake everyone else he knew, one by one without any trouble. It wasn't from any brilliant skills as he saw it, although that was what the magazines claimed it to be; just good luck and the fact that his parents were successful stars.

Or rather, his dad was a rock star, and his mom had been a movie star. But the latter had died when he was six, victim to some illness that the doctors said she should have been immune to. All James could remember was his father telling him that he wasn't to blame, and himself at the funeral playing with the toys he'd brought as he waited impatiently for it to end.

"Where are we going again?" the teen asked of no one in particular, gazing off in to the distance as he expectantly waited for the limo driver to answer. He couldn't even remember the man's name, and he knew he wouldn't need to anyway; this newest one had been hired recently, but would no doubt quit within the first few months like the others.

The old man answered despite thinking that the boy was being rude, and told him, "You requested that I take you to your friend Julia's house, master James. It is the day of her birthday party and a week ago she sent you an online invitation."

"Oh, yeah," the brunette grunted as he shifted to get comfortable, scowling at how the seat belt got in his way. Then, so that he didn't seem stupid, he added hastily, "But I didn't forget, I was just testing you." To which there was no reply, only a heavy silence.

Deciding to pretend that the man was simply stunned speechless by his charisma, James focused his attention on his music player and selected one of his newest songs, cursing the stupid device when the volume blasted his ears. Then he listened quietly and gazed at his reflection as the limousine neared its destination. He couldn't help smirking and adjusting his beautiful hair in the mirror as he remembered how little he'd done for his album. Everyone else had worked on it for him, using auto-tune and adjusting his unimpressive vocals, which had only been recorded once or twice for each track.

James often thought this privately to himself as he enjoyed the pleasures of being high class, and he couldn't help believing it every day as waiters served him food in his house and housemaids cleaned the mansion for him. But once again it crossed his mind as the limo curved up the driveway of his girlfriend's house.

_Everybody loves me._

By then the fast car had come to a standstill, and James clambered out with a sneer curling at his pretty lips.

* * *

_Ding Dong!_

James jabbed at the doorbell with a finger and smoothed down his hair with his hands as he waited for someone to come to the front door. Finally a blonde seventeen-year-old girl opened it and let him inside, her mouth stretched in to a strange smile that he returned wholeheartedly.

"Julia!" James greeted happily, stepping forward to hug her. It was awkward, and her arms did not immediately embrace him; it took her a moment to realize what he was trying to do, and it was only for a couple moments that she allowed him to hug her before pushing him away. Afterwards her laugh was suspiciously delayed, and her smile seemed even more forced than it had previously. James simply frowned as she said, "Come on in," and lead him down the hallway towards the kitchen. He could hear a lot of chatter, presumably coming from her group of friends.

James was undeniably pleased when he saw that everyone else invited there was of the female gender. He waved at each of them before sitting down, grinning at the unexpected amount of giggling. "Is that him?" he heard one girl whisper to another, forgetting to hide her finger as she pointed at the famed boy. "Is that James Diamond?"

James simply nodded his head and tried to look as professional as possible. "Yeah, you've probably heard of me," he replied, taking off his sunglasses. "I've put out some albums of the pop genre."

"Some? You mean to say_ five!" _a redhead cried, characterized by curly auburn hair and an excited grin. She turned to the friend who was sitting next her, who was just as attractive in James's point of view. "Ellie, you've heard of James and his dad, haven't you?"

Ellie, who was dark-haired and wore a sleeveless, silver dress, went over to James and asked, "Do you go to our high school? How'd Julia get to meet you in the first place?" She seemed genuinely thrilled by his presence, and her confrontation only did more to strengthen the whispering that was suddenly spreading throughout the group of girls. Julia was the only one who looked exasperated, her arms crossed as she looked in the opposite direction.

"Well, I met my girlfriend around six months ago," James boasted proudly. "We saw each other in the grocery store. It was one of the rare times that I went shopping for myself, and I saw her eating a sandwich for lunch. Since I had nothing better to do, I went to go say hi to her. If you would believe me, she didn't even recognize me for who I was! But we talked for a really long time. Actually, I think it was the longest I'd ever held a conversation with a non-celebrity."

At this point the girls were all hanging on to his every word. Relishing their pent-up anticipation, James smiled and waited a moment before preceding with the love saga. "Anyway, eventually I told her that I was James Diamond, and invited her over to my parent's house. After our first few dates, we'd agreed on being an official couple! Haven't argued or fought at all since."

He gazed towards Julia, expecting her to say something aloud in agreement, but she only looked a little guilty and regretful as she stared at the wooden tabletop. Then the party moved on with their activities, although the teenage girls never quite stopped obsessing over him and his good looks.

This only did more to fuel James's confidence, and he couldn't help smiling the whole time, although once or twice he did stop to worry about his hair and whether it might have gotten messed up.

Finally the celebration was over and all the guests had gone home except for him. Julie was still acting as down as before, her chin in her hands as she contemplated something gloomily. Finally her boyfriend went over and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, bored with watching re-runs on the TV. "Are you lonely?" he asked. "You should talk to me more so you don't feel so sad, Jules." Her nickname would normally cheer her up, but this time it only made her look even worse; she was obviously on the verge of tears.

"But that's just it," the depressed teenager protested, gazing up at him with troubled green eyes. "I don't want to talk to you at all anymore; you're the reason I've been feeling so bad for the past month. Jamie, I'm so sorry, but this relationship can't go on. We can still be friends, but I don't want us to date. You're just not my type anymore."

And so the seemingly flawless James came to develop his first insecurity; stubborn belief that no matter how he tried, he would never get a girlfriend.

Although he would slowly realize over the months that there was an alternative that was just as good.


	2. What You Need

_"Say it! Say sorry or I'll punch you again!"_

The sound of a plastic helmet hitting the ground with a resonating _thud_, which seemed to come from miles away. A throbbing pain on the side of his head that felt almost as bad as the rest of his injured body. Carlos barely managed to open his tearful eyes against the blinding sunlight that now seemed much brighter, his brown irises gazing upwards at the bully towering over him from where he lay collapsed on the street.

The boy was several years older, his shoulders broad and his body decorated with countless piercings and tattoos. Carlos could no longer remember what he'd done to anger the strong teen, all he knew was that he'd been pushed down again and he couldn't get up this time with what the dirty ground and how unsteady it seemed beneath him. He was dizzy, confused, and this last fall had knocked the breath out of him hard.

"I'm really sorry! There, I said it!" Carlos finally squeaked, losing all courage and determination and surrendering himself to the aggressive teenager. He would lift his hands if he could, but the muscles in his arms and legs had gone limp for some reason that slipped his dazed mind.

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to finish off the scrawny victim, the bully gave him one last kick in the side and ran off to his friends to no doubt brag. As Carlos flinched and wrapped his arms around his middle to try to hold in a scream from the sudden agony, he heard fast-paced footsteps coming down the alley towards his wounded body where it lay.

"Oh no, Carlitos!" Logan couldn't have arrived at a more vital moment. Even with what felt like a concussion, Carlos was sure he would break from the pain of the blow dealt to his ribs. There were also bruises purpling all over him from where the other teen's fists had struck, and by now his body had curled in on itself as he gasped for breath like his life depended on it.

His best friend knelt by his side and began firing questions at him urgently while checking for any serious wounds. This wasn't the first time such a skirmish had happened in the streets of their neighborhood, although this was the worst of them yet, and since Logan was training to be a doctor, he was often on the lookout for such fighting between unsettled teens.

Carlos tried to answer through his panting breath, but he couldn't find the voice. There was also a bleeding bump on the side of his head that was swelling by the minute, making his mind clouded and his thoughts move slower.

Logan was perceptive enough to notice this fact. "Did your head get hurt during the fight?" he asked, bending over to examine the place of impact. His gaze then traveled over to the helmet that was lying in the dust a few feet away. "You fell down, didn't you? You must have." He frowned worriedly.

By now Carlos had caught his breath somewhat. "A g-guy who was w-walking past..." he stammered with difficulty, "...tripped on the p-pavement, and then accused m-me of shoving him..." Then he shuddered in fear and shrank in to his grimy jacket, as if trying to hide from the threat that had already come to pass.

Logan nodded knowingly, sad and sympathetic. He'd met many street thugs like that, who would overreact and get provoked in to a fight with an innocent bystander. By now he had already put Carlos's hockey helmet in to his own bag, and was preparing to lead the boy home for his recovery. He crouched down, summoned his strength, and painstakingly lifted his best friend up in his arms.

"Up you go," Carlos heard Logan say from above him. The injured teen's arms and legs swayed slightly beneath him as Logan carried him forward step by step, in to another alleyway that branched off. Carrying him back home.

"Thank you, Logie. Thank you so much."

* * *

It was three days later. Carlos had mostly healed from the assault, and the doctor had assured him that he didn't have a concussion. At this point the hispanic teen was seeing off Logan, who would be driving several hours' time to L.A. in his car. This road trip was supposedly to catch up with some relatives who the brunette hadn't seen in a while, but Carlos was skeptical. Yesterday he had run in to Logan's dad, who hadn't seemed to know anything about it. So based on evidence, the genius had to be visiting the California's state capitol for his own private intents and purposes.

* * *

It was late evening. A warm night breeze, heavy with rain that had yet to fall, swept through the open windowsill and tugged playfully at his locks of dark hair. But even though Carlos was usually such a playful and mischevious person, right now he didn't feel up to his usual crazy antics. He ignored the wind, which was obviously trying to get his attention, and continued his perusal of the precious locket he held in his hands, while he sat on the bed in his room with the door locked.

Carlos finally clicked open the metallic heart-shaped pendant and silently admired the picture framed inside, his eyes swimming with tears. "Sasha..." he whispered in reverence, gazing at her delicate face pictured inside the silver heart.

She had moved away just like his girlfriend before her, Stephanie. Carlos still missed Sasha's company dearly, but they hadn't been able to contact each other much after she'd left for North Carolina, as both his computer and his cellphone were infuriatingly problematic.

By now it was past midnight, and the boy was too tired to go on. Releasing an adorable _puff _of frustration, he delved down under the bed covers and resolved to sleep as late as possible. It was summer and this was not the time to be stressed.

Nor was it the time to miss what was never coming back.

* * *

"So, is the rumor true? I read Julia's tweet yesterday, and her story sounded real to me. But the magazines haven't picked up on it yet, they can only speculate anyway." Kendall finished speaking in his usual listless drawl as he tuned his guitar at James's house the next day. Every once and a while he would come over for a jam session for fun, or in order for the two boys to discuss upcoming decisions in their musical careers.

He was a relatively nice guy, and he'd been one of the brunette's guitarists since they were both fifteen, as they were seventeen now, but even considering so, James wasn't in the mood to relay the story to anyone other than his overweight cat.

"Does it matter? Your old girlfriend dumped you months ago."

"Shut up," Kendall retorted, somewhat angrily.

There was a concise pause, before the two wordlessly reconciled and moved on with the conversation. The blonde was the first to speak again, adjusting a tuning key and then testing his instrument's pitch in the process.

"I dumped Jo, not the other way around. Besides, before we split up you said you were jealous."

"Then I got my own girlfriend," James reminded him testily as he messed with the settings on the amp. There was nothing better to do, and he felt restless just sitting there without something to keep his hands moving. "Julia was ten times better than any of the girls you tried to date."

_"'Was _better?' You used past tense, James."

He felt a burst of anger and nearly lost his temper. "Shut your mouth. I don't care about grammar, I've never been good at it."

"Listen, do you want me to tell the reporters that you two broke up?" Kendall threatened, no less calm than before, but somehow a lot scarier. He could do that. "If not, then you're gonna have to give me a better explanation."

"Fine, fine," James grumbled unwillingly. Then he directed his gaze at the wall before speaking. "Yeah, Julia dumped me when we were at her seventeenth birthday party. But you can't tell anyone about it, or I'll have my lawyers sue."

"I won't say anything," Kendall vowed, sounding sincere. "Though she never should have done it." Then there was an even longer pause than before. "Now that I know, I have some plans in store for you."

"What are they, Kendall? I already have plans, many of them. Tour in less than a year, school concerts, televised interviews..."

"Oh, nothing that has to do with business," Kendall dismissed lazily. "You'll have time for it. And I can't guarantee anything, anyway. But I'm going to try to help you out."

"I don't want a new girlfriend, I've decided they're pointless."

"I never said anything about a hot girl."

James became more heated and his talking sped up. "You're saying she's hot? Who is she, anyway? Prove that she looks as cute as you're saying, because I wouldn't say this normally, but in my opinion over ninety percent of teenage girls fail at looking even remotely attra-"

"Slow down, James. You're getting ahead of yourself. I don't have any certain person in mind."

"Thanks for lying to me, then."

Kendall looked considerably disgruntled for the first time. He recovered before following up on his previous train of thought. "Anyway, I'm going down to the city tomorrow, and if you want to come we could look for hot chicks. You're famous, so it shouldn't be too hard to make friends with strangers."

"Hmf. If you're going to be so adamant about it. As long as I don't have something scheduled already."

"How about 5:00 p.m?" Before James could answer, he forged ahead to bravely announce, "It's settled!"

But James knew in his heart that this was going to be an awful experience, and for more reasons than one.

* * *

"Hi."

Logan entered Kendall's house, walked in to the room on the left, and seated himself on the blonde's creaky living room couch, the texture of the fabric familliar beneath his weight. He'd been here countless times when he was a kid.

Kendall followed him in and sat down on a three-legged stool, unscrewing the cap of a fizzy orange soda in the process. He downed the drink in a few gulps, then turned back towards Logan, tossing the empty bottle in to the trash can nearby.

"So, Logie, what's been going on with you? Seen success with your...doctor's...degree?"

"Nice to see you again after so long, Kenny. But you're confused; I'm not in college yet. After summer ends, it'll be my last year in high school, as much as I wish my parents would've let me skip a grade."

"Ah, right. I always forget about the number grades. I never went to school formally, I always had a tutor." Kendall breathed out slowly as he flipped through a brochure that had been lying around, clearly bored out of his wits. "So...why'd you visit anyway?"

"Um, you know. I was in the area," Logan answered warily, "and you're an old friend."

"Just so happened to wanna see the beach now, huh?" Kendall raised his thick eyebrows questioningly, disposing of the vacation brochure to find something better. Eventually he reached for his acoustic guitar and began to work out a melody, his light green gaze pondering.

"Sure, we can go later if you want," Logan agreed. Then there was a weak pause, a hesitation. "But there's something else I need to talk to you about," he confessed. He rushed on to say, "So I have this friend..."

"Is he an entertainer?" Kendall interrupted, sounding confident in his guess, but Logan shook his head fervently.

"No, not at all. Although maybe he'll be a hockey player one day, I dunno."

"This must be about a relationship he's in, then."

"Yeah," Logan sighed in assent, weaving his fingers through his tangled brown hair. "I thought you could help me find, uh, someone to get with him as more than a friend..."

"Well, you came to the right person," Kendall conceded proudly. "Just tell me what he wants. I can help you find him someone good."

Logan heaved another weary sigh. "I think I need to explain further, though. See, my friend Carlos has been feeling really down. He gets beaten up a lot, he's small for his age, and his girlfriend moved away to the East coast. For the past few months he's been alone."

"So you feel sorry for him?" Kendall surmised, trailing his fingers down over the guitar strings to create a smooth strumming sound. "But how far will you go to find him a girl?"

"Er...before we talk about that...I think you should know something else." Logan shifted his weight on the aging couch, unsure of how to approach the topic. Finally he decided to get it over with, and muttered reluctantly, "Carlos is bi, but he likes boys more than girls. It's gonna be harder than you thought to find someone for him."

Kendall only lifted an eyebrow in interest, seemingly undeterred, or even unaffected, by this unexpected news. Then, as if ignoring it, he changed to a completely unrelated subject, although Logan thought he could detect the trace of an amused smirk on the jaded teen's lips, like Logan was stupid for thinking that the blonde would care about a person's sexuality or the challenges it presented.

"I have a friend named James. You know him? He's from the Diamond family, lives over in Hollywood."

Slightly confused by where Kendall was heading with this new path of conversation, Logan recovered from being impressed, and replied with a bemused expression. "Yeah, I think you've mentioned him before. Aren't you guys...in a band together...or something?"

"Close enough," Kendall responded shortly, an unmistakably annoyed twinge in his voice for the other boy's misuse of the word. He went on. "But the guy's seventeen, and he's looking for a...date...too."

Logan's face whitened by a shade. "Oh?" He looked surprised again, but quickly tried to hide it with a cool and collected face. "Oh. So...he's dated other guys before, or something like that?"

"...No, only girls," Kendall admitted after a moment of silence. "But it's worth a shot, right? James is lonely too, and he's the type who needs lots of attention."

Meanwhile, the guitarist's thoughts drifted to his taller friend, James, and his constant expression of triumph. The near talentless singer was convinced that everyone he met was immediately attracted to or became a fan of him. It was a foolish assumption on his part, and most of his friends secretly disliked him, Kendall being one of them, but maybe the pop star could learn to be a little more humble and a little less clueless. Maybe he could be this boy Carlos's perfect match.

"Yeah," Logan finally said in agreement, interrupting Kendall's deep thoughts. "I guess you're right, it _is_ worth a shot."

Kendall only nodded smugly in satisfaction, as if he'd known Logan would agree. "Looks like Jamie and Carlitos have a date in the city tomorrow, 5 p.m."

And so the two long-time friends joined in their efforts to get James and Carlos to become a couple.

* * *

**Guess what? My birthday was on Wednesday! It was also the first day back at school, though.**

**But yeah, for those of you who were wondering, I haven't discontinued my other fanfic, Step Brothers, or put it on hiatus or anything like that. Which I assume you guys are happy about, but maybe this fanfic will end up more popular than that one. Either way, I do plan to finish it. It's just that the newest chapter is taking longer than the others... :(**


	3. Famous Means that You're the Best

A whiny Carlos was lying down in the backseat of Logan's new car, broad daylight shining through the window and dappling his creamy complexion. "Ugh..." he groaned, gazing out through the glass with an upside down view. "When are we getting to the city? I've seen like a gazillion cows so far."

"Thirty more minutes," Logan promised, trying not to reveal how much his patience was wearing thin. He spun the steering wheel to the left a bit too forcefully, and the car veered dangerously close to the curb. "Oops..." He laughed nervously, a bit giddy from sleep deprivation, but Carlos, being the daredevil that he was, appeared unaffected by what had just occurred. Actually, for most of the time they were driving across the countryside, he'd been complaining about the road trip the brunette had dragged him on.

Although Logan knew that he had gone through much more for the sake of Carlos's upcoming date, having driven back to fetch the boy and then turning around as soon as he got there.

Anyway, by now Logan's energy was running on empty, just as the gas tank was, and so was his temper with the annoying passenger, who right now was doing a pretty sucky job of acting like the best friend that he had been for ten years.

Logan had roused a loudly snoring Carlos at 8:00 that morning, forced him to pack the simplest essentials, and ushered him in to his car with no explanation. Since then the only hint he'd bothered to give was, "You'll thank me later for it," which only made Carlos assume that he was being taken to a corn dog factory or some other place he was guaranteed to love. If only he knew the truth about their destination.

Meanwhile, Logan remembered how he and Kendall had brainstormed yesterday for a good place for the boys' first date. It had taken a while, but eventually they had settled on a popular Italian restaurant, farther from the city than they'd originally planned. It was only a ten minute drive to the nearest beach, which was free. So if things went well, perhaps the group would go there afterwards to surf.

Logan was a little anxious about one thing, though. Kendall and him had tried to avoid this topic throughout their conversations, but in his own mind it was irritating him more than he was comfortable with. The whole scenario insinuated that it was a double date, and that Kendall and him liked each other. Logan didn't think Kendall cared about this much, but the genius himself had always held a special affection for the blonde teen, more than in a friendly way. He was scared that he would make a mistake or mess up, and some of his truer feelings would shine through during the dinner date. But at this point, what could be done about it?

By now the smudge of gray that was the city line, had grown larger and larger until they were nearly upon it. "Have you brushed your teeth?" Logan called over his shoulder at Carlos, who was eating a bag of nacho chips for lunch. The boy shook his head with a mouthful of crushed orange chip fragments, and mumbled something that sounded remotely like "didn't have time."

So Logan seized a pack of breath mints and tossed it in to the back seat, returning his attention to the road before he crashed. "Have a few!" he offered, blinking rapidly as he swerved to avoid a cone in the road. The poor boy hadn't slept for over 24 hours.

* * *

The car bumped over the road and Kendall grinned sheepishly at his inexperienced driving. But James had his thoughts on more important things, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the GPS. "What did it just say? I thought we were going to the City Walk."

There was no reply. Kendall sucked in a breath and turned on the radio to static, even though there was no point.

James crossed his arms. "D'you want me to have to call up my body guards? Y'know, none of this would've happened if you'd just let us go in the limousine so my limo driver could take us. And it would've been so much nicer than this old broken-down van."

"I inherited this car from my dad," Kendall said softly. "He died five years ago."

For possibly the first time in his life, James felt...guilty, sympathetic. He shifted his weight, his cheeks burning in the awkward silence. "Well, I never knew that. You should have told me."

Instead of checking Kendall's facial expression to see whether he was crying or not, James had the decency to keep on looking out the window, listening as the blonde changed to a working radio station. The music didn't fit the mood in the slightest.

* * *

The Italian restaurant was flooded with visitors. Nearly ever table was booked. Although Logan, who got there first with Carlos, would have liked to get an outside table where they could appreciate the warm breeze, he and Carlos ended up with one that was packed in to a corner of the restaurant, bustling with noise.

But that inconvenience would just go to show that things couldn't always work out the way they were expected. Even this date would go better than planned. No one knew it yet, of course. Except maybe Fate, but did he qualify as a person?

Five minutes later James and Kendall had arrived, the latter with his hands blindfolding the brunette. When he finally took them away to show James the table they were to eat at, the former gasped and his hands leaped up to cover his mouth. "What? What's this?"

"A surprise date," Kendall told him and Carlos, meeting the short boy for the first time. "You don't have to call it that, but Logan and I thought it would be fun, since neither of you guys have a girlfriend anymore."

"Hey!" James cried quietly, who was still touchy about the subject.

But by then Logan had stood up as well. "You guys should sit down, I already ordered. We'll be getting some chicken and fries."

The popstar was still frowning as he took a seat.

* * *

Carlos took two fries, pinched them together, and swiped them through the puddle of ketchup on his plate. Then he took an eager mouthful, chewing and swallowing the salty snack. "Yum!" he added emphatically once he'd finished. Then he turned to James. "So, who are you again?" he asked amiably.

James responded as he always did with, "I'm a professional singer." Then he sang an excerpt from a song, his voice wavering in complicated pitches that blended together well. Once he was done, he mentioned with a smirk, "I've been featured in Pop Tiger magazine _many_, many times."

Carlos grinned, undaunted, and said, "Maybe I haven't been in magazines before, but I can sing too." Then he belted out in song like a Broadway singer, pressing both hands over his chest and shocking even Logan with his never-before-seen talent. _"And right from the start, you had to, break my heart. And now I can't find all the pieces...yeah!" _Towards the end it sounded more like a song about partying than about heartbreak, especially with what his bubbly expression.

Once he was done Carlos added, beaming, "I wrote that song for my chorus class." He paused to wince. "I got a D on it, though. Something to do with conflicting theme of lyrics. Psh. Who says I can't sing an upbeat breakup song?"

Everyone laughed, but in moments it would turn sour.

"Anyway, I've never heard of you. So you can't be the best singer around," said Carlos bluntly. He showed no hint of tact as he stuffed an entire chicken strip in to his mouth. Appalled, James's mouth momentarily fell open in to a gaping "o." He couldn't help wondering how the other boy had gotten this far in life. And yet as naive and reckless as he appeared to be, there was a sort of unforced cheeriness that gave forth from him and every word he spoke. So the popstar recovered quicker than he might have from such an offensive statement if another person had said it.

Although there was something else that James didn't want to acknowledge, that was making him like Carlos no matter how much he tried to stop himself. He couldn't quite place it, but it had to do with the other boy's image; his whole personality was different from any of James's friends in Hollywood. He was just as good at smiling, but his upturned cheeks had a more natural look. His hair was a little crazy and James wished he could work on its style, but its untamed spikiness gave it attitude and life. Even Carlos's brown eyes seemed more bright and beautiful than James was used to.

His thoughts were interrupted by the small latino speaking again. "It doesn't matter, though, cuz now I _have_ heard of you! Anyway, since you say you like clothes so much, d'you wanna try my helmet on?" he asked, bursting with excitement as he held it out to James. "I wear it all the time, it's my good luck charm! I got it from my Dad!"

"You wanna know what _my_ lucky charm is?" James asked, ignoring Carlos and his head gear. He grabbed a rectangular object out of his pocket, holding it up in his hands against the light so that it gleamed through the comb teeth, like it was holy to him. "My lucky comb, of course!"

Logan nearly face-palmed himself. "Seriously?" he asked Kendall, who only chuckled.

"He brings it with him everywhere," the blonde explained. "And it's saved him from having to do concerts with horrible bed-head. You can't blame him for worshipping it."

"I worship my helmet," Carlos chimed in, chewing another bite of chicken.

By now James was trying not to smile, but it was too hard to keep it at bay. "I'd noticed." His sarcastic response made more laughing break out.

* * *

After about an hour and a half of eating and talking about their lives, Carlos and James had gotten to know each other better. There was plenty of time to surf afterwards, and in Logan and Kendall's eyes, their relationship might actually become a success.

Now it was time to go to the beach.

* * *

**Hey, did anyone recognize the song Carlos sang? It was the one that the boys were singing in the beginning of "Big Time Girlfriends." That's my favorite episode.**

**I don't care what you say or how you say it, but please review this story! :)**


	4. All The Right Moves

The car rolled to a stop and James was the first out. Hurrying back to the trunk to unload his surf board, he found it after a cursory examination and then made a mad dash for the beach, leaving the three others behind. Kendall climbed out after him, laughing and shaking his head at once.

Three minutes later, Logan and Kendall had worked their way down the tall hill after Carlos and James, their arms precariously stacked with bags, towels, and even a foldable umbrella. Past them the waves churned with the tide, surging and subsiding against the shore. The water was a vibrant aqua blue, white foam gathering along the edge.

James peeled off his gray shirt and shed it on the ground, sprinting straight for the waves with a surfboard secured under one muscly arm. Logan only pursed his lips, sent him a disapproving look, and spread out the towels he was carrying beneath the umbrella. They flapped in a powerful gust of wind, which carried a fishy smell with it.

Carlos got to the water first, even though his legs were shorter and he couldn't cover as much ground. "Woo-hoo!" He plunged in with a fierce battle cry, charging against the waves as he took his shirt off in the process.

James slowed to a trot and waited until the boy had waded back out of the water to talk to him about the bet they'd made, even though he was itching to try out his new surfboard already. But then...a strange feeling lit inside of him.

James's breath caught in his chest and he could feel himself burning with desire as he admired Carlos with his shirt off. The boy's drenched swim shorts were plastered to the shape of his body, the blue cloth sopping wet and sending little rivulets of seawater down his bare legs. He was shirtless, of course, and maybe he didn't have washboard abs like the popstar did, but...to put it lightly, his chest wasn't as ugly as it could be.

What was wrong with him? James tore his gaze away from the breathtaking sight, forcing himself to look back towards the umbrella to see if everything had gotten set up. Kendall and Logan were laying down just outside the umbrella's shadow, letting their skin soak in the last dying rays of sunlight. He felt himself smile at how peaceful they seemed after all the hectic goings-on recently.

"So, are you going to prove that you're as good at surfing as you say?" asked a voice in his ear, startling him. James jumped and turned around, only to see that Carlos had closed the gap between them. With him standing only inches away, it was even harder to resist peering closer at Carlos's amazing figure, especially when he was half-naked like that... But James took a deep breath, focused himself, and kept his gaze fixed on the other boy's face. No, he decided, it was better to keep on looking at his eyes...James just had to gaze straight in to those chocolate brown irises, and the dark pupils in the center.

Unfortunately, Carlos noticed this, and his eyebrows dipped upwards in concern. "Jamie?" he asked, waving his hand in front of James's deadpan expression. "What's going on? You didn't see a shark, did you? Oh no!"

James cleared his throat and tried to speak, but it took him a moment to find his voice. "No, don't be silly. The beach is safe." He started to get dizzy again as Carlos ruffled a hand through his hair to dry it off. Water droplets flew everywhere, making him look like a shaggy dog.

"Um, I mean..." James closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "I'm gonna go test the water, hopefully it's warm like you say. You stay here. Or, um, why don't you..." He racked his brains for something else to occupy the hyperactive teen. "...go look for some pretty shells."

Carlos only nodded his head, bouncing up and down in excitement. "Yes, sir!" Then he scampered off, leaving a reeling James to wonder what the heck had just happened to him.

* * *

James had entered the water, and his mind was no longer obsessing over the weird Carlos incident... Although in the back of his head, he did figure that he must have just eaten something funny back at the restaurant. None of that mattered now, though, because this was his turn to show off. Maybe Carlos was an exceptional singer too, but James had won many surfing competitions when he was a kid. He just hoped he hadn't gotten too rusty after five years of retirement.

As he guided the floating board through the water, James reviewed all the surfing rules in his mind. He remembered that balance was the key. So he paddled a bit at first, trying to find his center of balance. Eventually James was crouching on the surfboard as he coasted along the waves, waiting for a particularly strong one to carry him back to the beach. Logan and Carlos were observing from a distance, cheering him on as they marveled at his skills.

It didn't go all as planned, though. He scowled the next time he got a proper view over the high waves, seeing that Carlos had busied himself by making a sand castle. And Kendall, of course, was still resting by their umbrella, even though the sun had lost much of its strength since the group arrived.

* * *

It was ten minutes later. Even though Carlos had tried to hand over the money as promised, James had experienced a rare flash of guilt, and refused to accept it even after winning the bet that he was a good surfer. He was regretting it slightly afterwards, but he did already have tons of money saved in the bank.

James's attention returned to the present as he heard one of his favorite voices again. "I've always wanted to be an explorer," Carlos was saying, drying himself off with a fluffy white towel. "Let's hike up the cliff face. I'm sure it'll have a fantastic view."

Leading down to the beach there was a steep hill with a path cut in to it, but about a hundred feet away the slope straightened itself in to a sandstone cliff, rockier than the rest of the land. From the boys' view they could see occasional patches of grass, and a few ledges that jutted out.

So the three boys fetched Kendall so they could begin the trek up towards the cliff. "This might be a trail from a few years ago," the blonde mentioned as he consulted the map that he'd brought along. "Let's hope it wasn't closed off for being hazardous."

Once the group had walked out on to the wide ledge, they could see a towering oak tree and an overgrown garden as well. Past that was a magnificent view, but the evening sky wasn't at it's most beautiful yet.

Carlos, being the childlike teenager that he was, was more interested in the tree than anything else. "Hey!" he asked, pointing at it with a finger. "It's an oak! Let's see if I can climb it!"

"Don't hurt yourself," James reminded him as he scaled the tree, searching for holds in the bark with his hands. The ancient oak was gnarled and damaged from years of abuse from the weather here.

Carlos deftly lifted himself on to another branch that extended itself out from the trunk, the wind surging through his jet black hair. Exhilarated, he dared to take his arms off the branch and lift them in the air, his hands clenched in to his fists. "This is awesome! Logan, Jamie, Kendall, you gotta get up here! I think I can see _Canada!_ Wait, I'm gonna see if I can climb any higher."

"Don't," Logan was warning him, but by then it was too late.

Carlos latched on to a skinny branch, but it splintered and then snapped from his weight. The boy took a tumble and landed on the stony ground below, the impact drawing from him a vulnerable squeak. "Ouch!" Carlos had come down on a thin layer of grass, but James knew it couldn't have softened the blow much.

James's eyes began to water (from the wind, he told himself) and he ran forwards to his friend's side, the others trailing close behind. "Are you alright?" he asked, bringing the boy in to his arms and hugging him with all his might. "I'm sorry you fell," he whispered in to the untidy black head of hair, after taking the helmet off. "I should have stopped you from climbing that tree."

Both Logan, Kendall, and James were surprised by what happened next.

"What?" Carlos asked, laughing as he backed out of James's embrace. "It's okay, guys, I'm fine! I had my helmet on, so it protected me!" Then he smiled guiltily, patting a stunned James on the back. "Thanks for worrying about me, though."

* * *

It was a while later. The boys had headed back down the hill, collected all the equipment they'd brought along, and decided to take a break before they drove to James's house to crash.

The pop star was the only one still standing up. He stood there on the shoreline and felt his toes sink in to the grainy sand, still warm from the baking sun, although the heat of the day was no longer at its peak. As he looked up, he saw that the sky was that incomparable golden color that was associated with sunsets; a fiery, shimmering sun sank below the horizon, illuminating the endless ocean and the rest of the sky. Before long the pretty sunset and the colored strips of cloud would disappear, leaving only the dim stars scattered across the black sky.

"Come on, sit down," Kendall prompted him from where he knelt in the sand, alongside Logan and Carlos. James did as he was asked, even with a sense of uneasiness welling in the pit of stomach. He lowered himself down next to Carlos, who still wasn't wearing a shirt, and held a pink conch shell in his hands.

The boy's face was completely lit with a brilliant amber color, touching everything except his earnest brown eyes which outshone the light in some way. "Aren't you cold?" James asked him, tutting to himself. He reached for Carlos's shirt, beat some of the sand out, and slipped it over the boy's head, helping him get it on and stick his arms through the sleeves. He tried to stop his fingers from lingering on the other's skin, but it was all too tempting, and by the time he was done assisting him get dressed, Carlos was gazing at him with a new level of understanding in his eyes.

Then Carlos turned to Logan and murmured something that James wasn't supposed to hear. But he did, and it warmed his heart to realize that he had made a permanent friend.

"Logan, can we stay here til summer ends?"

* * *

**Here's an early chapter for you. Happy holiday!**


	5. Looks so Good I Might Die

The car door slammed behind them and the group made their way towards the intimidatingly huge manor. Striding across the pebbly path down the middle of the manicured lawn, they approached the oaken double doors and James unlocked them with a key. But once the boys had entered the first portrait-lined corridor, James froze in his tracks before they could go up to his bedroom. "Oh, yeah," he moaned as something occurred to him. "I only have two beds for us, and I don't have any sleeping bags or air mattresses... I would offer up the guest room, but it's being cleaned and so is the mattress for the bed in it, anyway. So we'll have to split in to pairs and share beds."

Logan looked quite a bit horrified at the prospect of something so "unsanitary", until he calmed down after the group had discussed who would be sleeping with who. They ended up agreeing on James and Carlos as a pair, and Kendall and Logan as the other. The popstar couldn't say whether he was happy or sad about the upcoming challenge. He would just have to see where it went.

* * *

James let himself fall backwards on to the mattress, his arms spread apart as if it was a trust fall. Lying there on the bedspread and staring steadily up towards the ceiling, he heard a series of footsteps coming up the stairs, making him turn his head to see Carlos standing there, silhouetted against the overhead lights. There seemed to be a glorious halo surrounding him, and it was almost as if the pop star could hear a chorus of angels singing in the distance as a message, telling him just how wonderful an opportunity this was.

Shaking his head a bit to clear it, James combed his fingers through his hair one last time in case it had lost its form, then sat up alongside Carlos, who had plopped down on to the edge of the mattress with a grin spread across his features. "Awesome day, huh?" the raven asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He had taken off his sandy clothes and put on a new pair to sleep in. They were visibly loose on him, as they belonged to Kendall, who had had the foresight to bring an extra change of clothes.

James tilted his head to the side as he gazed at the faded blue t-shirt, which nearly hung down to Carlos's knees. He was also wearing a pair of baggy shorts, and worn-down socks that he'd brought himself. "Cute pajamas," the brunette observed with a chuckle, moving aside to let Carlos claim a larger portion of the bed. At this point he'd gotten over the fact that they would be sleeping in the same bed, partly since Kendall and Logan were seemingly indifferent to the situation, and there was no reason he needed to overreact if they were fine with it.

Carlos has gone on rambling while James paused to think, who was only just now bringing himself back to hear what the energetic boy was saying. "Just don't take all the covers for yourself. I get really cold during the night!" He was stopped at the end of the sentence by a huge yawn, and he leaned back against one of the bigger pillows. "Anyway, just a few minutes more before we sleep. Let's at least wait for Kendall and Logie before we turn off the lights. And...uh...leave the bathroom door open, with the lights on. I might need to pee in the middle of the night," he added hastily.

James sent him an amused glanced, ready to tease or ridicule Carlos for his fears, but he stopped when he saw the blush already darkening the latino's cheeks. "I'm not scared of the dark!" he insisted embarrassedly. His friend opened his mouth to talk, but Carlos went on before he was made fun of. "Shut up before I punch you in the face!" he whined, rolling over to face the wall. Another yawn so loud that it had to be exaggerated, except James rolled his eyes because he knew it wasn't.

"I just like sunlight. A lot."

Which made James's expression change to a gentle smile, amused by Carlos's childish lie. Although he did have a very sunny personality.

"M' back!" Logan was the first one in, having brushed his teeth thoroughly and gotten in to his own pajamas. James was admittedly impressed that none of his guests were wearing just their boxers to bed, since he'd had many guests over who didn't bring a full change of pajamas. Unless...

As if right on cue, Kendall stepped in wearing only a pair of boxers, still scrubbing his mouth with a foaming toothbrush. He was so lax and laid-back, it was hardly a surprise he was dressed that way. James only stared at him with a resigned sigh, and laid himself down next to Carlos. "Finish brushing your teeth and get in bed, Kenny. But next time, please bring some clothes."

"I gave them to Carlos," Kendall reminded him through a mouthful of toothpaste, heading back in to the bathroom to rinse it out. Then he came back in, slipping under the covers of the other queen-sized bed. James frowned at him slightly before speaking again.

"I thought you had an _extra_ pair of pajamas with you," he said irritably.

Kendall's smirk was evident in his voice, even with his face turned away. "That was an assumption on your part. And I'm doing you a favor. Would you really want to sleep with a partially nude Carlos? I think not."

Guilty, James shifted on to his other side and tried not to think about such an experience. He faked a laugh along with Kendall. "Yeah, you're right. Just explain yourself next time, cuz unlike Logan I'm no Einstein."

There was a humiliated squeak that came from underneath the covers in the other bed, making the whole group laugh, even Carlos. Then James switched the lamp off, plunging the room in to darkness. "Goodnight, everyone. Let's try not to cuddle." He sent a meaningful glance at the dim outline of Carlos's body next to him, then settled down and decided he was going to try to get at least an hour of sleep.

_Good luck with that._

_

* * *

_

The sound of James's quiet alarm clock penetrated his dreams, serenading him with his favorite song. He must have forgotten to turn off the device for the weekend.

James was lying there in confusion, having slept well, but sensing another source of heat sprawled out next to him, unsure of what it was. Befuddled about what could be going on, he stretched out his hand and uncertainly began to explore the other side of the bed, until he felt his fingers collide with a broad shoulder turned away from him.

His other hand joined the first, and they slid down to the middle region of the human's back, his palms pressed against the cottony fabric, against the warm skin underneath. Deciding that there was nothing to fear, James voluntarily opened his eyes a sliver, to see shafts of early morning light filtering through the bedroom windows, but more importantly a recognizable boy lying in front of him.

Raven-black hair stood on end, tussled from a night of sleep. It smelled like shampoo, which James quite liked. Opening his eyes the rest of the way, his gaze traveled down the length of Carlos's body. Shadows shifted on the silky pajama cloth as the planes of the boy's chest rose and fell with his breath, subsiding as he exhaled through his nose.

"I love this song," mumbled a voice above the sleepy breathing and air conditioning. It seemed that the boy had awoken from James's hands on his back, who quickly removed them with a regretful blush. Carlos turned to face James on the comfy mattress, his eyes wide open and a shy smile curling at his lips. Then he opened his mouth and began to sing along to the tune playing in the background.

James smiled in return and raised his voice slightly, creating a melodious duet with Carlos's voice as they sang their favorite song.

The boys' voices faded as Kendall and Logan started to wake up. The couple sat up together in one synchronized movement, enclosed in each other's arms, looking just as embarrassed at falling asleep in such a position. After they had extracted their arms from each other, Kendall headed in to the bathroom. Then Logan rubbed his eyes and commented on the morning duet, saying, "Since when did my life turn in to High School Musical?"

The three boys laughed, and within the next twenty minutes the entire group had gone down to eat a luxurious breakfast prepared by James's butler, Sebastian. The morning's events seemed forgotten...for the time being, at least.

* * *

**Okay, so I think this is a record: I wrote three chapters that only lasted the span of a day in the story. Impressive, no? lol**

**Ignoring that, I think most readers will like this fanfiction. Whoever does like it should review! I also have other BTR stories you guys can check out, if you haven't already. Thanks! :)**


	6. You Don't Have to Make a Sound

The boys were standing in the kitchen in their pajamas, Kendall with a blanket wrapped around him. Logan's phone was done charging, and he was about to call Carlos's parents to see whether they would let their son stay at James's any longer. That is, if Logan was willing to talk to them in Carlos's place.

"You're really too scared to call your parents yourself?" he asked skeptically one last time, his cellphone in hand with his finger poised over the green button that would make the call.

Carlos nodded, hiding behind James. "Yeah!" he whimpered, clinging to the taller boy's muscly arm. "C'mon, my mom and dad trust you better cuz you're so smart and good at school!"

Logan rolled his eyes as he punched the button with a finger. He held the phone up to his ear. "Oh yeah, they definitely trust their neighbor more than their own son. Carlos, I think this is more of an issue of you being a wimp than the chance of your parents disowning you because of a three-month vacation you decided to take without them."

Just then Carlos's dad come on the phone, and he put his hand over the receiver to mention, "If he starts to shout, I'm handing it over to you."

Logan went back on and said in a different, more respectful tone of voice, "Hello, Mr. Garcia. It's me, L. You know, Carlos's best friend?"

Kendall burst out laughing hysterically with a hand over his mouth, bending closer to Carlos to ask, "Is that supposed to be a _cool_ nickname?" who only shot him a cold glare. Logan was talking again.

"Yeah, we drove a few hours to get here. Carlos sent a text to tell you guys he was leaving with me, right?" Carlos looked so guilty at that moment that it was impossible that he _hadn't_ forgotten to text his parents about it.

When Logan next spoke, he was rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling uneasily. "At least you didn't call the police. I guess you knew I was gone, so you figured I'd taken Carlos with me. Well, he's really liking it here, so he wanted to stay the rest of the summer at my friend James's house. I've already called my parents about the vacation, they're fine with it. Are you?"

After a minute in which Logan waited for Carlos's mom and dad to finish speaking with each other, Mr. Garcia finally came back and agreed to the plan.

"Bye," Logan said while grinning broadly, snapping the cellphone shut so forcefully that he almost dropped it. Then he threw his head back and pumped his fists in the air. "YES!" As soon as Carlos, James, and Kendall realized what this meant, they joined Logan in celebration of the news. The next few months would be great fun for all of them.

* * *

It was an hour after lunch. Logan and Kendall had left the house by themselves when Carlos and James weren't looking, leaving a note on the counter that explained that they were just "going out to have some fun by themselves." This had left James furious and brooding. So Carlos, being the "sweetheart" that he said he was, had decided that making the pop star cookies would cheer him up. All too predictably, by the time he was halfway through making them, his stomach had started growling again.

After thirty minutes of Carlos scrambling from place to place in the kitchen with an apron on, he finally approached the table holding a plate that was laden with steaming cookies fresh out of the oven. "Sorry, but you can't have any," he told James the second the plate _clink_ed on to the tabletop. Taking a seat, he reached for one immediately and tore a bite off. "It's been, like, an hour and a half since we ate lunch. I'm starving. And I baked them, so therefore, I get to eat them. Even if they make me fat."

Once he'd swallowed the last bit of his cookie, however, he made a face and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Urgh." Then he hurried over to the fridge so he could pour himself a glass of chocolate milk, which he drank a few sips of. "My cookies always end up burnt. Nothing like my grandma's." In spite of his words, he sat back down and started eating the rest. He'd just stuffed one halfway in to his mouth when he was interrupted.

"But they look so delicious!" James exclaimed, sniffing at the chocolatey scent in the air. "They can't taste that bad. And I'm just as hungry as you."

Carlos grinned to himself and glanced down at the plate that he'd emptied already, which James hadn't noticed, scattered with browned cookie crumbs. "Fine, d'you really wanna bite? Go ahead, then." His speaking was impressively coherent around the food in his mouth.

James gulped when he realized what Carlos was getting at. Then he forced a friendly smile. "Alright..." He leaned forward and took the other half of Carlos's cookie in his teeth.

It snapped under the strain. James's part of the cookie fell in to his mouth, and he chewed and swallowed, finding that the slightly burnt, crunchy texture didn't make the treat taste any worse, as it was still soft and chewy on the inside. Now his lips were inches from Carlos, who was grinning up at him knowingly. The boy had already swallowed his piece of cookie in his mouth, but he wasn't complaining about James's face being so close. So...could it be that he wanted...?

Before James could even follow through with this timid thought, his urges had taken over and he'd jammed his lips up against Carlos's, and they were kissing each other through the taste of warm, melted chocolate.

There was the clicking sound of a key turning in the front door. A faint groan escaped James's mouth before he could stop himself, and he pulled away reluctantly. Unfortunately, by then Kendall and Logan had already walked inside each holding a pair of 3D glasses and a bag of popcorn. Once they saw the sight awaiting them, which was James and Carlos sitting across from each other and panting slightly, the boys quickly backtracked to put their stuff at the door and awkwardly wipe their feet on the doormat, although their shoes were no doubt perfectly clean.

A heavy pink blush dusting James's cheeks, he backed away from Carlos and tried to act innocent, whistling a tune under his breath. He tried to say something believable to Logan and Kendall, something to make him sound angry and frustrated at them for deserting him, but he couldn't bring himself to act angry after what had just happened to him. Instead he flashed a gleaming smile and greeted them with a casual, "Hi." Then, determined not to have to say any more, he stole Carlos's chocolate milk and began drinking from it, leaving the other boy to stammer in front of Logan and Kendall.

Surprisingly, the first words that came out of either of their mouths were, "What the _heck_ happened to the kitchen?"

James paused just long enough to peer up over the rim of his glass. He couldn't blame them for noticing what appeared to be the aftereffects of an explosion.

Carlos only laughed obliviously and slapped the side of his helmet with a hand. "Don't worry, I was wearing my helmet when the first cookie batch caught fire! The second was only slightly burnt!"

* * *

After cleaning and repairing what was left of the kitchen, the boys grouped together to discuss their plans.

"So what should we do for the rest of the day?" Kendall asked, acting as the leader of the four of them. Logan and him had gone to see a movie, but now they wanted to go somewhere a bit more interesting. And James and Carlos had been sitting around the house all day, so they were even more bored out of their wits.

James pondered the possibilities for a minute. "I think I'm already scheduled to record a song today. Carlos, I can introduce you to my producer, Gustavo Rocque. He has some anger management issues, but then again, I have a serious god complex, so it isn't that bad in comparison. As long as you don't make any cookies explode in his face, you two will probably get along. Then maybe you could record the new song with me."

Once everyone had agreed on going, they set off in Kendall's car, since James hadn't felt like taking the limo. The whole way to Recoque Records, he and Carlos sang along to various songs on the radio. He could feel himself starting to loosen up.

* * *

They'd arrived at the building and by now the group was standing in front of the producer, his assistant Kelly in the background. "Who is this?" Gustavo asked importantly, lowering his bug-eye sunglasses to look Carlos in the eye, who was bouncing on his feet with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Logan's friend," James replied. "And my..." he coughed in to a fist "...friend who is a boy." Then he went back to grinning with a mouthful of shiny white teeth, like was his specialty when it came to interacting.

So now it was Logan's turn to shyly explain who Carlos was and what he was doing there. "H-He's really good at singing," he stuttered under Gustavo's imposing glare. "James and Kendall and I were thinking that he could record some vocals for James's new song." He quivered for a second before adding in a scared, high-pitched voice, "P-please?"

To the boys' surprise, Gustavo seemed to give in, albeit with somewhat of a noncommittal grunt. Then he let James and Carlos in to the recording booth while he went to his music sheets and worked on changing the song in to a duet. Meanwhile, Logan and Kendall got the privilege of watching them sing through the wall of glass.

* * *

The boys had gotten all the equipment ready in the recording booth, such as the headphones and the mic stands. Gustavo had also made a few minor changes to make the song in to a duet. The idea was that since Carlos's singing voice was a bit lower (which James found ironic, since he was smaller too) then he would be singing mostly the same notes, but in a deeper pitch. And occasionally his timing would be different than James's. The arrangement really did seem quite brilliant, and once the sound of the guitar and drums had come on from Gustavo's little room, the pop star somehow knew that the brilliance of this duet would blow everyone's expectations out of the water.

They had launched in to the song. Now James could feel his voice proudly blasting from his chest and hitting the notes in fluent succession, the words falling from his lips and giving meaning to the melody that he was already starting to adore. Alongside him, Carlos's voice seemed to make love with his, just as powerful and yet sweet and suave like honey.

About halfway through the song, James and Carlos found themselves singing in to the same microphone. Once and a while, as they moved to the rhythm, the sides of their faces would brush or bump. It was a bit embarrassing, but James found himself enjoying the contact between them.

Interestingly enough, during the last chorus of the song, James saw Kendall get pulled from Gustavo's room by an impatient Kelly. He wondered what could be going on. But as the song came to a close, he decided to just wait until the blonde returned to ask him.

* * *

"Why have you brought me here?" Kendall asked as he stumbled forward and finally came to a stop with her outside of Gustavo's studio.

Kelly raised her eyebrows. "To have a word with you. Is something going on with James and Carlos? They seem to have a strong connection with each other. I mean, they've known each other for less than a week, right?"

Kendall nodded. "Yeah. I really don't know what's going on with them. But it's cool to watch. James used to act kinda mean and stuck-up. Now he's nicer because of Carlos. Carlos has been a really helpful influence."

"And James's singing has gotten better from all the practicing," Kelly acknowledged. But it seemed that this was not what she had met with Kendall to speak about. "And it's not that I'm complaining about this new...relationship...that the boys have, I just thought you might be able to give me some insight in to what it really is. James's career is very important to me and Gustavo, as you know, and-"

"I know, I know," Kendall assured quickly. "It's dangerous for them to get too close. I mean, to the point of like, loving each other. But don't worry. Sure, if they ever started dating, James might get some unwelcome attention from people. But seeing as he's already very successful, and has five albums out, I don't see why he couldn't try dating Carl-"

Kelly's eyes widened and she drew a line across her neck with a finger, signaling for him to stop. Kendall trailed off and saw that Kelly was staring over his shoulder in intimidation. Frightened, he turned around to see a tall, gray-haired man standing behind him with a briefcase. There was man and a woman standing at each shoulder; they seemed to be his assistants.

"Hello, Griffin!" Kelly said, wringing her hands. She gestured for the man to step in to Gustavo's office, which was only a few feet away. "We weren't expecting you at Rocque Records so soon. Gustavo is recording right now, actually. I'll get him so he can come talk to you." Then she headed for the hallway, Kendall striding after her with the sneaking suspicion that she would need to talk to him.

As it were, Kelly did need to have another word. Once they'd stepped around the corner, she turned to face the blonde and whispered, "Get Carlos out of here. He can't be talking to Griffin, I've seen how he acts, all crazy and hyper. He might unintentionally insult him. Then Gustavo would get punished. And Gustavo is so used to punishing other people, that whenever his boss punishes _him_, he gets really...uh, shouty."

"Shouty?" Kendall asked in amusement.

Kelly was in no mood for laughs, so she only nodded and waved him towards the door of the studio. "Kendall, this is no time for explanations. Just get Helmet Boy out of here, NOW!"

* * *

**A/N:** **Not my best writing, but I was in a rush to get it out. ****I also think James might be a little Ooc in this story, but I'll try to fix that in later chapters. I do believe I've been getting Carlos right. It's actually really fun to write his character. :D**

**Thoughts, anyone?**

**(Oh, and incase anyone knows how to help me, Fanfiction hasn't been e-mailing me whenever I got reviewed or favorited. It's really messed up. D: )**


	7. Head Down

The final guitar chords had faded away a minute ago. James was drinking from his bottle of colored water to quench the thirst that normally came after singing a ballad or a song that required lots of effort. Meanwhile, Carlos was tapping his microphone with his forefinger and listening contentedly to the echo it made every time.

"C'mon, there's something we need to do - outside," Kendall announced, barging in to grab Carlos by the elbow and haul him towards the exit door. Meanwhile, Carlos started to wail annoyingly and tried to break out of his kidnapper's grip.

"What? NO! I like it here with Jamie! We were gonna listen to the song and add some effects!"

"We have to hurry," Kendall grunted, ignoring Carlos's words. He gritted his teeth as he tugged even harder on "Helmet Boy," who had stubbornly grabbed on to his mic. The bottom of the stand was scraping along the floor, as he refused to let go. "Put that back where it was!" the blonde added, upon seeing that it was starting to leave a scratch mark on the expensive studio floor. Good thing Gustavo and Logan had their backs turned- the producer seemed to be communicating with a younger lady who had stepped in to the control room, dressed in a business suit and nodding him towards the door.

"Hey, where're they going?" James asked suddenly, removing his headphones. He seemed much more concerned about Gustavo disappeared along with Kelly, than the fact that Kendall was still struggling to get Carlos up off the ground (he'd sat down cross-legged and wouldn't budge.) "You don't think someone - ?"

Then he stopped his question at the booming voice that had started up in the background, and without a word hurried out of the room, taking off his equipment and dropping it somewhere safe. "It's Gustavo's boss, Mr. Griffin!" he barely managed to gasp out as he stopped right outside the doorway, before racing across the hallway towards the source of the noise.

"I wanna see what's going on! Maybe we'll get to see the grown-ups fight!" Carlos cried excitedly, evading Kendall's grabbing hands and nimbly jumping to his feet, then dashing out the door after James, whose voice could now be heard. It sounded unusually polite, considering he was usually the one receiving kind words and a bow. Not literally, of course.

"Hello. Have you come for your monthly evaluation?"

Kendall caught up a minute later after unsuccessfully trying to wipe away the scratch mark on the floor with his shirt sleeve. Once he arrived, he could see Griffin inspecting Carlos and his helmet very closely, with Gustavo, Logan, Kelly, and James standing off to the side. "Who's this?" The raven-haired boy was fidgeting every few seconds, squirming under the old man's steely gaze.

In the meantime, the guy assistant consulted his clipboard and said, "It doesn't say this boy is signed to you, Gustavo - Cameron Gardner, was it?"

"Carlos Garcia," James corrected softly, sending a fleeting glance at Carlos that showed nothing but pity. Then he glanced towards Logan, who explained to both the assistants. "Carlos is staying here in L.A for the rest of the summer. He's never taken formal voice lessons before, but he's an amazing singer naturally. They say he inherited the talent from his dad, who travels. Anyway, about five minutes ago he and James finished recording a song together. If you like it, it could go on the album as a bonus track." No reply.

"I don't like the boy," Griffin said out of nowhere, straightening up and fixing his tie. "He seems too...different." Then he spun around to face Gustavo, an indecipherable look in his eyes. The shape of his mouth had changed by such a small amount that it could've been a trick of the light. A frown? A smirk? It was too hard to tell; he was an experienced adult, the kind who was able to keep any secret or truth to himself. But the boys couldn't help staring blankly as he gave Gustavo a pat on the face. "Good boy. Or...what is it you call them?...ah, that's right, 'monkey dog.'" He chuckled as if his idea was funny, before continuing in a much more businesslike manner. "I want all eleven tracks recorded by mid-August. Got it? Okay. I'll check up on you again in two weeks. By then I want this 'Clarence' boy gone."

Griffin walked off, but as soon as he turned the corner, James and Carlos rushed in to a hug. "He can't get rid of you..." James murmured, his voice muffled as he pressed his face in to Carlos's shoulder. "We've only just met."

"Agreed."

* * *

**A/N:** **Apologies for not posting in so long. It's been about a week since I've updated this fanfic. And I know this chapter is shorter than the others. But I had to introduce an antagonist, so... Forgive me? -puppy dog eyes-**

**I know this isn't the time to be asking, considering I just said sorry, but could you guys also...maybe...please...review, especially if you haven't already? Yeah, I know I'm pitiful. xD**


	8. All I Don't Know

The boys had gone home, eaten a lazy and somewhat unhealthy dinner comprised of salty snacks like pretzels and chips, headed upstairs to tell ghost stories in the dusky light, and drifted off to sleep in various positions across the room. Logan had fallen asleep cross-legged with his head leaned against the wall, Kendall had fallen asleep at the foot of one of the twin beds only a short distance away, and James and Carlos had fallen asleep in each other arms. More specifically, when the brunette stirred awake he had his arms wrapped around the smaller boy from behind.

Luckily, James was the first to come to his senses. He wriggled away as smoothly as possibly, sat there for a few minutes, found it impossible to find peace again, and finally wandered downstairs to make a cup of tea. He drank it sip by sip with an uneasy expression, but he was interrupted while heaping in spoonfuls of sugar and squirting in honey to sweeten it up. So much for trying to compensate for last night's high-calorie dinner. It was the butler Sebastian, walking in while wearing slippers. He offered to stir James's tea, and then added in some cream, explaining that it would make it taste richer and more delicious. While he did this he started to chat with James.

He spoke of James's friends, wondering where they'd come from, and how long they'd be staying. He didn't sound too worried about their stay and how much food they'd need, however, as he'd noticed that so far the group had been going out to eat. James responded with replies that were maybe a little too lengthy, rambling about himself for as long as he could comfortably, until eventually he realized that Sebastian was just standing there to be polite. He could've left a minute ago if he wanted, and James must've been boring him to death.

Feeling guilty, the pop star asked something he'd never asked aloud before. "I'm sorry, but...could you maybe stop calling me 'Master James?' I know you work for me, but it doesn't feel right. I call you 'Sebastian,' so I think you should just call me 'James.'"

The man nodded and smiled, and he had an unfamiliar expression on him. A happy expression. James experienced another guilt attack at this idea, but he shook it off fairly quickly. After a life of bossing others around, he'd taught himself apathy. It was just that now he was regretting that skill a little too much. "Thanks," he said after conversing a bit more, waving the older man goodbye. He set his teacup in the sink, went upstairs, and miraculously managed to fall asleep again. He slept dreamlessly, but it was quite nice considering his recent awkward dreams and nightmares. He was the last to wake up. When he did, he found Carlos smiling down at him, combing through his messy hair with his fingers gently.

* * *

Later that day, the group headed out to the park. But fifteen minutes through their stay, they realized that they didn't have any lunch to eat. As soon as this sunk in, Kendall volunteered to go buy some pizza or hamburgers for the boys. He was about to leave, when Logan asked if he could go too. Convinced of the answer, James then turned to Carlos and asked whether he would like to go, since he was such good friends with Logan. The popstar was pleasantly surprised when the boy declined. For ten minutes they'd be able to simply sit on the nearest bench, enjoy the weather, and feed the birds. Just watch the clouds pass by.

After a quiet minute of tossing chunks of bread to the pigeons on the pathway, James spoke up. "I know you're good at singing and hockey, but since it's your dream to do theatre someday, I was wondering...are you good at dancing too?" he asked as they sat there waiting, trying to spark an interesting conversation and maybe find out whether the other boy could teach him a new skill.

"You mean ballroom dancing?" Carlos countered. He frowned and made a pouting face. "Bo-ring. I'd rather play laser tag."

James tried not to laugh (or worse, _giggle_) at Carlos's expression, which normally wouldn't belong on the face of a 17-year-old. "No, Carlitos. I meant dancing for fun, like at clubs or parties."

Carlos perked up at the thought of kinds of dancing other than the waltz. "Oh, yeah. I'm the life of the party back where I live," he bragged. "You might find this hard to believe, but last year I crowned myself the Super Party King. I've always wanted to be able to rule with someone else, except..."

"Things you want to happen don't always work out," James filled in softly with his mind elsewhere, staring at Carlos's empty hand that was slung over the edge of the seat. He inched his own towards it, maybe hoping that Carlos would get the hint and grasp it in his own warm, safe hand...becoming the princely character that was the stuff of dreams. But as often as James got whatever he wanted by way of money, he knew that such an event was never going to happen naturally, regardless of how much he gave up for it. Yesterday's kiss had been merely a one-time experiment. Shaking off the disappointment, he glanced up again, trying to divert his attention from Carlos's hand and in to his eyes, as was often the brunette's technique to avoid looking like a creeper. "Anyway, I guess you could appoint me the other Super Party King...of Hollywood, since that's where I live..."

But his voice cut off at the sight before him.

James was surprised to find Carlos mimicking his own deep gaze steadily enough to rival it, those pools of light brown shining in the dazzling sunlight that washed over the scene around them, which was teeming with life as it often was in summertime. Unguarded, James found himself trapped in Carlos's mesmerizing stare, but not in a bad way, as he soon found himself loving and craving that feeling of complete and utter domination by his partner. Not only that, but Carlos's eyes were even more beautiful than the park they were sitting in, in every visible aspect down to the way the light reflected off of them.

They weren't the ugly color of dirt but rather the color of the creamy, milky, swirly, steamy coffee that James liked to drink in the morning. The depths of the boy's irises contained flecks of gold and silver too, and a ring of dark brown circled each pupil. James found himself getting thirsty and parched just looking in to Carlos's handsome brown eyes, and he had to blink several times to snap out of what felt like an incredibly powerful spell, as if the other boy had been peering straight in to his soul throughout the whole "staring contest," even though those long sixty seconds had been much too serious to be a game.

"James, do you want me-" Carlos began, and James leaned forward wondering what question the boy could possibly have on his mind, with such a grim, defeated tone of voice...

But they were interrupted by Kendall and Logan entering the scene bearing ice cream cones in hand, licking away at the the frozen scoops blissfully. "We had to stop by the icecream parlor after getting lunch," Kendall confessed with a sheepish grin, sitting down between Carlos and James like they hadn't just been talking in a serious undertone. He dropped the grocery bags on the pebbly ground, reached in to unload some food, and started on a pastry. "Yum! Delicious. These were so cheap!"

From then on out, while at the park, the boys spoke only of trivial matters like cars and girls. But James couldn't stop thinking of Carlos, and wondering whether Carlos couldn't stop thinking of him. Would their relationship ever grow beyond this point?

* * *

**Happy Valentines! I could've posted something related to today, but I didn't feel up to it. I didn't have enough ideas to write a oneshot, I only had an idea for the title and shipping. Of course, if any of you want me to, I'll still put something out a day late. So...yeah! Feedback would be nice! ^.^**


	9. Feeling Oh So Good

They were sitting in a circle on the floor of Camille's carpeted living room. Being friends with Logan, she'd invited them over; her dad was off on a business trip and she was staying home alone. He'd granted her permission to throw a party, which was why the boys had been called over, to help plan for it impulsively.

"Do guys play Spin the Bottle?" Kendall asked doubtfully as they sat there, clicking his pen in hand. Repeatedly.

James raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, straight guys?" the blonde added impatiently, which only made the brunette gasp in offense and reach over to punch his arm. Logan popped up between them with a nervous chuckle before they could start squabbling.

"Uh, isn't this the time to be brainstorming party games?" he asked.

He was met by a stony silence, before Carlos chimed in.

"How 'bout a Pie Eating Conte-?"

His words were too enthusiastic for him to go on after that, as all the other boys but Logan were glaring daggers at him.

"Why do we even have to organize this party?" Kendall complained. That disparaging tone of voice was unlike him, but he _had _gone without playing his guitar for a few days. His fingers were missing the feel of weathered guitar strings between them. He'd taken to tapping his fingers on a countertop or some other surface, humming quietly to himself. It made James wonder whether he may posses some vocal talent. He'd only ever sung back-up on occasion, and James's voice was always there to block out his.

"Because," Logan answered in response to Kendall's question. "Camille went out to get some basic supplies, like streamers and banners and popcorn...so she left us an hour to come up with some good activities."

"I'm a good thinker," said Carlos.

"You can be," Logan corrected.

"Checkers. Everyone knows how to play that."

James sighed. "That's actually a horrible idea." Then his face suddenly brightened and he perked up.

"I know just the thing! Karaoke! I have a video game for that in the car trunk. And Camille has a pretty big TV in her basement."

Kendall smiled a bit, looking up from where his fingers had been drumming on his knee. He was sitting cross-legged. "That does sound like fun," he admitted. He glanced towards Logan so fast the look might not've even existed. But Logan was open as he smiled back hopefully.

James narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at their exchange. "Then...Carlos, do you approve?"

"Yeah," Carlos said softly, grabbing James's hand and squeezing it in his own. Thankfully, Kendall and Logan didn't seem to notice; they were murmuring to each other and laughing happily.

* * *

The party had arrived, countless people pouring in to the house by the minute. Once everyone had arrived, the crowd had been ushered down in to the basement, where the game was inserted.

In his hands James gripped the remote, which bore resemblance to a microphone, waiting for the words to light up onscreen. He cleared his throat, feeling an unfamiliarly anxious fluttering in his stomach. Most of the people in this room, piled on the couches munching on snacks with their arms on each other's shoulders, didn't know who he was. These were all either Logan's or Kendall's friends. Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have many friends who weren't there for him just for monetary reasons. It was a wonder he'd gotten this far with Carlos, and the only reason Kendall had stuck with him after all these years was because their skills complimented each other's.

The drumbeat started up. This was a rather snarky song, called "The Only Good Thing," that he knew all too well. The chorus was always the most memorable, and he sung through the first verse looking forward to it.

_"My face is the only good thing_

_Everything else is disposable_

_Words don't mean nothing_

_My life holds no meaning_

_So why not enjoy this miserable mess-"_

Carlos joined in to sing, _"While...it...lasts."_

Feeling a new sense of confidence now that Carlos was standing at his side, James played air guitar for a moment. After they sang another verse, they transitioned in to the chorus again, with the same tune but different words.

_"My eyes are the only good thing_

_And even they lie ninety percent of the time_

_I used to speak words_

_But now they're my curse_

_When I can shut up_

_And feel good for once..."_

They finished the next verse. As the song came to a close, all James could feel was happiness and pride echoing throughout him. He felt like they'd really blown the crowd away, who were all rooting them on while standing up. So he clasped hands with Carlos and they bowed together, before sitting down to observe Kendall and Logan walk "onstage." They'd seemed to have planned a duet already, an emotional ballad that had everyone's eyes tearing up by the end.

* * *

It was around half an hour later. James meandered towards one of the tables, unocuppied other than one small person.

Carlos was writing down some notes on a party napkin; he hadn't interacted with anyone in a while, not since karaoke. "What are you doing?" the pop star asked over the blaring music, ambling over and stooping down to get a glance over Carlos's shoulder. He saw what looked like notes scribbled across the folded red paper, and looked towards Carlos in amazement. "Writing a song?" he asked, feeling a little envious. By the looks of it so far, the melody was quite elaborate.

"Yeah," Carlos mumbled, his eyes flicking back and forth quickly. He snatched up a potato chip and ate it, getting back to work on the song he was composing.

James took a seat next to his friend, setting down his paper plate with a wedge of cake lying on its side. "Do you like the dessert?" he asked conversationally as he finished a bite. It was a little too chocolately for him, but the sweet taste reminded him of the day before yesterday and what had happened between him and Carlos and the broken cookie, so it was at least a little enjoyable.

"Yeah," Carlos answered nonchalantly. "But there's another taste that I like way more. Now that I've tried it, it's hard to get enough of."

"Oh?" James shifted uncomfortably; he'd kill to think of a good excuse to escape this awkward situation. He had a feeling of what Carlos was getting at... "That's good to know," he said at last in surrender. "Because I also like this other taste more than the cake...and I can't wait to get more of it."

Carlos glanced up with eyebrows raised, a slight smile curling at his lips like he could hardly dare it to believe it. "Are we seriously talking about the same thing?" he asked slowly.

James bit his lip, glanced around edgily, then nodded. "Yes."

Suddenly, Carlos's eyes were burning with impatience. "Come with me," he commanded playfully. "We need to go somewhere..."

"...alone?" James asked, but Carlos said no more as he captured the brunette by the wrist and led him out of the living room, down the hall, and in to the garage.

It was shadowy and dingy inside, but James didn't care, as by then he was too preoccupied with pressing his lips as firmly against Carlos's as possible. As his fingers tangled in the other boy's shaggy hair, the thought crossed his mind that this must be the best party he'd ever gone to, even with all the work. They didn't stop for a long time, not until another couple with the same idea opened the back door and then shut it hurriedly upon seeing the sight before them. And even then, the boys went on laughing for what felt like hours, until their faces were aching with the grins that refused to slip away.

* * *

The party had ended after a few hours of partying and eating sweets. The boys had started roaming around collecting all the trash littering the ground, like styrofoam cups, colorful ribbons, and streamers that had been torn down. The three hours it had lasted hadn't been too wild, but considering the size of the party, it had caused quite a bit of a clutter.

Soon Logan and Camille went in to another room to toss their findings in to a trashbag, but within five minutes the rest of the boys could overhear a loud argument going on. The only words they could make out were "Kendall," "singing" and "feelings," but once it reached a certain height, their brown-haired friend was sent staggering out of the room dizzily. "We have to go," he panted, making his way towards the front door. "Camille's mad at me. She wants us out."

So the boys gathered up their things without a complaint, Logan running his fingers through his hair and trying to get a grip. He was usually so levelheaded, but as they trooped out to the parked car he needed Kendall's shoulder as support. He whispered in to the blonde's ear whenever he thought James and Carlos weren't listening, but with his desperate expression, it was clear what he was talking about.

At last all the inner conversations ended, and the boys began talking to each other freely again, strapping themselves in to their car seats. But as they turned out on to the highway, it seemed that Logan wasn't too crushed about Camille kicking them out, because he managed to crack a joke. Half-heartedly.

"At least I wasn't pushed in to the pool again."

* * *

**In case anyone was wondering, I wrote the lyrics to the song Carlos and James were singing. I would have included the whole thing, but it probably would have bored you... Of the part that I put in, did you like the words?**

**On a more pessimistic note...**

**I dunno why, but I've been feeling less up to writing lately. I hope you guys don't mind. I don't have many ideas for this fanfiction, and some of the reviews I wish would be a bit longer, but I'll try to post at least every three to four days, as I've taken to doing. **

**Thanks again. Keep reading. :)**


	10. You Know Who You Are

The boys were at the studio waiting on the late Gustavo, hanging out in the room with all the cared-for instruments lying about. Carlos had perfected the song that he'd gotten around to writing the day before, scratched in untidy handwriting on to a few ragged napkins, so he was left with nothing to do. Yet.

The boy now started to experiment on the remaining guitar, fetching a blue (his favorite color) guitar pick. "I took lessons for a brief period of time," he revealed to the others as he placed the guitar on his lap and lowered the strap over his head, his eyes glazed over with nostalgia. "I've always been jealous of my younger brother, who they call a 'musical prodigy,' being able to play so well."

He tested out a chord, but by the cringe-worthy sound of it, his fingers had failed at hitting their marks.

James now dropped what he was holding, an exotic flute of some sort, to come over and stand behind Carlos. He reached his strong arms around to hold the boy's fumbling hands. James began to guide them with a gentle yet domineering touch, like an adult showing an unwitting child.

"If you really wanna learn, we should start with the open chords. See, this is 'A Major,'" he explained as he slid Carlos's left hand higher up. "You put these three fingers - _here _- and you strum, gently down." The guitar vibrated, but James's grip on Carlos was as unshakable as ever.

An enlivened smile was brought to Carlos's face. "It sounds...kinda like when Nick does it," he said in awe. "And it reminds me of my dad. He used to be a police man, and I would see him every night, but then he started to go on tours and do bigger things...God, I haven't seen the guy in person for weeks. This helmet is the only memento I have of when he used to eat dinner with our family."

"Anyway, I kinda remember this chord from the month that I took lessons," Carlos recalled, as if to dissuade the unpleasant memories.

"That's unfortunate about your dad. You wanna try another?" James asked, awfully self-conscious of the words he said and the caresses his hands seemed to leave on their own. But, oddly enough, Carlos seemed to enjoy each time James's fingers hovered a fragment of a second longer on his hand or wrist, or even shoulder.

* * *

Watching from afar, Logan became sad that he couldn't play any instrument. "Could you help me learn something or other?" he asked Kendall beseechingly.

"Oh, alright," the blonde sighed, his lips coming dangerously close to a smile. But rather than getting up close and personal, he stood a foot away from Logan and pointed to where the other teen should put his fingers, giving very precise instructions.

Afterwards, the blonde's fingers twitched spasmodically (but rather suspiciously) and he dropped his guitar pick at Logan's feet. He moved forward and bent over to pick it up, warily as if suddenly conscious of what he'd chosen to do. When he stood, his face was inches away from Logan's.

It was like there was no longer a choice. A moment later they'd glided in to a timid kiss, in which Kendall's hand snuck up to brush aside a strand of hair on Logan's forehead, and the other settled on his waist. Then their eyes opened as their faces pulled apart, both of them smiling in a stunned kind of way.

"You don't have a girlfriend?" Logan murmured wistfully, as if weighing his options.

Kendall shook his head. "No," he mumbled back, entwining his fingers with Logan's. "I dumped Jo months ago...I already felt mixed feelings about dating girls. But...meeting you has really convinced me that it was a good decision to break things off. After that I was mourning for way too long; I should have realized someone even better would be coming along."

"Aw, that's sweet." Logan crinkled his nose in a flattered smile, stepping away so that the only place of contact between them was their conjoined hands.

After that, he went on to say, "This morning, Camille texted me to remind me of our fight last night. She said that I shouldn't go thinking that doing a few favors for her would make up for...you and me. In light of you being single, does this mean...that you and me...are free to...?"

But Kendall only sighed. "I'm not sure, Logie. I go on tours with James, playing back-up guitar and everything, and while I'm not as famed as him, I'm pretty well-known. The situation is kinda like his and Carlos's. If it's not Griffin trying to repress our relationship, it's some other producer in charge of me."

Understanding of this position they were in, Logan nodded his head, and merely decided to convey his feelings by squeezing Kendall's hand as hard as he could.

Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James. They would make it through. They had to.

* * *

Five minutes later Gustavo arrived, selfishly complaining of endless lines of traffic, and the boys got to hear the final version of the duet. After being refined and added to with some complimentary instruments, it sounded quite impressive.

The song faded away to a storm of clapping. After the applause died down, James boldened up and declared, "You know, this duet is so good, I don't think being sold as a bonus track is good enough. Not just that, we should change the whole album so Carlos accompanies me on most of the songs."

But Gustavo seemed to have been shocked speechless. Finally, he said quite feebly to Kendall, "I never thought I'd say this, but the boy's gone mad."

How would Griffin react to James's adamant request that the nature of this album be changed completely?

* * *

**A/N: ****Anyone other than me excited for Big Time Beach Party? I know it's still five days away, but I'm looking forward to the premiere. Even Russel Brand! :)**

**Also, I know that Carlos has at least one younger brother, but I wasn't sure of his name, so I used the first one that I could find. Please correct me if I'm wrong (I shortened it from "Nicholas.")**


	11. Comeback

"So, before we discuss this two-person album idea, let's hear this 'hit song' you boys have come up with overnight," Gustavo said quite pessimistically.

James nodded his head. "Carlos is actually the one who wrote it, but okay." Sitting down at the piano bench, he added, "I haven't mastered the piece yet, but I have the basic finger movements down. It's pretty complex."

"Same here," Kendall chimed in from a few feet away, his fingers poised on his guitar already.

"And I...I've had this song in my head for a while," Carlos admitted. "For weeks I would sing these random lyrics under my breath, but they were always set to that melody, for some reason. I think James's amazing voice has inspired me to try to get it down. So...well..." He grinned humbly. "...this is the result."

Gustavo, followed by Logan, headed back to the control room behind the glass wall. He spoke to the boys through the speakers. "I'll play a pre-recorded drumbeat. You three monkey dogs come in whenever you feel like it. And I'll record this disaster of a song in case it shows some worth to it."

A minute's pause of getting the feel of the beat. Then, a nice multitude of paino keys being played, James's fingers dancing on them adeptly. His left hand shifted back and forth to press different arrangements of keys, while his right moved in all sorts of fantastic ways, the fingers tapping up and down like they were excited, occasionally flying across to play a higher or lower pitch.

Perhaps the brunette wasn't the best singer or guitar player, but even Gustavo acknowledged that he didn't get enough credit for his piano playing, maybe because it wasn't featured on his albums very much.

A minute later Kendall started up with the guitar. He kept his celadon eyes trained on the fingers that pressed the notes, his other hand strumming punchily in time to the drums and the piano.

Carlos inhaled deeply, then blasted his voice from his chest, reading the words off the napkin in his hand.

_"Right now I feel like a punching bag_

_But next year I'll make my comeback_

_I'm not just saying this to brag_

_It's a rule, no, it's a fact_

...

_Being pushed and pulled around_

_Was what made me who I am_

_I'm just saying, and I'm not kidding_

_That next year I'll kick some serious ass_

...

_Right now I feel like a punching bag_

_But next year I'll make my comeback_

_I'm not just saying this to brag_

_It's not an opinion, it's a fact_

...

_Oh, haha, it's so funny to hear_

_That a small dude like me will strike fear in you guys_

_Not with his fists, but with his size_

_I don't care if it's unlikely tonight_

...

_It may come as a bitter surprise_

_That courage can come from a wimpy kid's lies_

_And broken hearts can turn to topping music charts_

_So I guess your tears'll have to dry_

...

_Yesterday I felt like a punching bag_

_But today I'm making my comeback_

_I'm not just saying this to brag_

_You've heard it from me, it's a fact..."_

One last furious strike on Kendall's guitar, reverberating through the room, and one last peal of the piano keys by James's skillful fingers. Gustavo seemed non-responsive at first, but at last he pressed the button for speakerphone.

"I never thought I'd say this...but this just might work!"

* * *

**Sorry guys, writing lyrics is just too fun for me. I guess you'll have to put up with it... In the meantime, did you like this song compared to the last one? (It's called, "This Year I'm a Punching Bag, But I'll Make my Comeback." Pretty obvious...lol.)**

**Anyway, I was wondering whether James has become a little too modest in this fanfiction. Over the course of the chapters I've tried to give him some character development, so he becomes a nicer person thanks to Carlos, but this could be to the point of OOC. So...what do you guys think? I could always bring some of his snarky attitude back. At this rate, the only way I can have fun writing stuff like that is through song lyrics.**

**Other than that, any and all feedback is good. Please don't be afraid to critique me. I need to know what I'm doing wrong, versus right. :)**


	12. Weak Link

James let the teeth of the comb sift through his hair, straightening it even though it already looked fine. He'd taken to doing this at least five times a day. Even so, it was no longer an effort to beautify himself even more. It was more of a neurotic habit that he found himself doing when left with nothing but stress and anxiety. For a habit, it was fairly relieving and calming, to go through the familliar motions that he'd gone through every morning since he was old enough to hold a brush. So he'd decided that he wasn't going to try to stop.

Meanwhile, instead of gazing upon the polished silvery mirror hanging on the bedroom wall, he let his eyes roam his surroundings without taking anything in. As usual, he was the first one to wake up out of all four boys, even before Logan did. And that was saying something, since the geeky brunette was obsessed with hygiene, and normally showered at the crack of dawn. In fact, right now the sun had only barely risen.

But it did give James a small ounce of pleasure to sit on this cushioned chair and comb out what little bedhead he'd acquired overnight. He got the privilege of watching Carlos lying there only three feet away, watch as his chest rose and fell with each breath. The boy looked littler and so much more adorable in slumber, and for an exhausted and unthinking James, his bleary mind found something seemingly boring quite fascinating the watch. It also gave him a chance to think things through and simultaneously calm himself down for the nerve-racking day ahead.

Griffin was unrelenting in his orders to get rid of Carlos, and even Logan, who hadn't done much. Over recent meetings with Gustavo the old man had threatened to do a number of things, like command his body guards to "kindly escort" the "unwelcome and unprofessional intruders" out of the building. Everyone except him thought this idea was absolute crap, of course, but being in a position of power, he always got the final say.

Not only were James's and Kendall's producers starting to pester them and get on their nerves, but Logan was starting to give out. He'd always considered himself the weak link of the group, and tough times like this certainly didn't reinforce his self-confidence, if any. He'd never been musically-inclined, and unlike most subjects such as math and English, he couldn't learn an instrument from a text book. In the past week, Logan had read so many thick books about the music industry that if stacked up they could probably reach from the ceiling to the floor. And yet, he still felt like a pointless addition to the group. Kendall was his only hope, consoling him whenever he got down. And even the two boys couldn't kiss; they were much more careful about their relationship than James and Carlos, who had already given up on trying to be discreet.

James thoughts now shifted in a different direction, away from his friends to a more personal train of thought. After stocking up some supplies, such as TV dinners that he could heat up in the microwave, he was ready to do it. He was ready to give all his maids and workers the day off. He'd been planning it for a while, but by now he knew he'd be able to survive without them. At noon today, before being picked up and driven to Rocque Records in Gustavo's limo as scheduled, James was going to call all his servants together in the dining hall, and break the good news.

It was what he considered the first step towards being a better person. At the start of the summer he'd been much more conceited, but by making kind friends like these, he'd learned how to act. In fact, he'd changed so much that he wanted to reconcile with his old girlfriend Julia so they were on speaking terms again. She was probably still feeling bad about dumping him, and missing him being there to talk to her.

So, James did it. After the breakfast meal, he paid all the cooks and waiters a little bit extra. Then, after the four boys did some fun stuff to distract them from their boredom, at noon he'd ordered them all in to the dining room, and given them reason to celebrate. It had felt better than he'd ever expected. Even Sebastian, contrary to his usual melancholy expression, could be seen with a weary grin plastered on his face. Now it was time to go start working on the rest of the album.

* * *

A collective laugh at some joke they would never remember. The limo pulled up, Gustavo's assistant Kelly sitting with the boys. There was another car parked outside the building, which the producer seemed to recognize. Frowning, he led the group up to the double doors. Logan lagged behind with Kendall ahead, the blonde glancing back at him once or twice in worry. He was dragging his feet, his eyes blinking against the sunlight.

Gustavo was the first one in the building, but as James strode in after him, he found himself running in to the bigger man and stumbling backwards. Even from this viewpoint, he could see that none of the instruments or equipment were in the recording booth, other than one microphone on its stand. And there weren't any instruments anywhere else, for that matter. What seemed to have replaced them was a man, gray-haired and towering, with a grim smile on his wrinkled face. One of his assistants, the lady, stood at one shoulder.

"This may come as a surprise, but I'm taking away all of your equipment in the studio as punishment. Gustavo, you need to discuss this ongoing problem with the boys, and be ready to replace James. If this isn't solved in the next week, you're fired. I can always get that man called Hawk."

James felt his water bottle drop from his hands. It thudded to the ground and rolled back towards him, nudging at his feet. He was frozen in shock, his mouth opening and closing like a fish's. What? This was preposterous! Rocque Records had other artists and bands signed to it! Wouldn't it go broke, or wouldn't something at least go very bad if the instruments were taken away? Gustavo was so ghostly white in the face that James was sure he could faint any moment.

In the meantime, Griffin was eating a cracker with a thin slice of cheese on it. As he munched on it, he said to his assistant, "Could we get a few dozen more boxes of these? Thanks." Then he turned back to the boys. "Well, it had to be done. I just hope you all understand."

No, James didn't understand. He felt so...betrayed. This wasn't fair, surely to take away the instruments was under violation of contract? But by the look on Gustavo's face, what Griffin was doing was perfectly allowed. It was just extremely insane, and may cause the recording studio to go broke if they didn't get their equipment back in the next week. So...what would happen?

The only good thing was, Logan seemed to have a scheming smirk on his face, and a sharp glint in his brown eyes. Could he possibly have an idea?

* * *

**Sorry for posting so late in the day. I had to go out to a restaurant to eat... ^.^**

**So, d'you like where this story is going? My apologies for not updating in a week. It's becoming a bit of a...pattern for me. A rut. But I'll try to get back to how I was, I swear.**


	13. Show Off

The group watched out the window as the car sped off with a roar, the tires throwing up clouds of dust like Griffin wanted to show off. Everyone was scowling except for Logan.

Curious, James turned to the other brunette. "Did you think of something to save us?" he guessed hopefully.

"I might have," Logan grinned. Then he reached in to his wallet and slipped out a small photograph. It showed what appeared to be Logan a few years back, hugging a blonde girl with a cheesy smile on her face. "I still need to get rid of this," he mumbled embarrassingly, before clearing his throat and facing everyone. He held up the picture. "See this girl? Her name's Mercedes Griffin."

Gustavo's expression changed to ridiculously giddy and hopeful. Carlos, Kendall, and James looked at him, confused.

"How'd you meet her?" the man asked, rubbing his hands together deviously. "Were you good friends? Do you still talk?"

Before answering, Logan addressed the now desperate confusion in each of his friend's faces. "Griffin has a daughter, and I used to date her when I lived here. Right, Kendall?"

Kendall's eyes widened and he slapped a palm to his forehead. "Oh yeah!" he cried. "I remember - I met her once, didn't I? At the pool! Right, right. But I never knew her last name."

Logan nodded, then replied to Gustavo. "We stopped texting and e-mailing a year ago, but if I started to communicate again, I doubt she'd think anything of it. And last I heard, she has no boyfriend. So..."

Kendall's thick eyebrows raised at the implication, Carlos goggled at everyone and said, "I don't get it," Gustavo started to laugh maniacally, and James simply looked pleased at Logan's brilliance. Finally the dark-haired boy was forced to elaborate.

"I could use Mercedes to get close to Griffin. And he'd never send me off if she wanted me to stay. He always spoils her; one time he bought her a gerbil, but she didn't like it 'because it pooped,' so I had to take care of it for months. One of the many reasons I dumped her."

"But you'd be willing to pretend to like her again?" Gustavo asked eagerly, although he probably didn't care, because he was going to force Logan to go through with this plan.

Logan nodded reluctantly, but he'd been eyeing Kendall all the while, who had a hurt expression on his face. Would this endanger the couple's relationship? James pulled Carlos close, imagining if that were to happen to themselves.

But this scheme could be their only hope. So Logan and Kendall were going to have to tough through, no matter how much it made them question the other.

* * *

"We may be without instruments without a week, but we have a mic. Let's think of our recourses, if any," Kendall commanded, taking action as the leader while Griffin stood aside, his gaze slightly cynical. The blonde glanced down at James's waterbottle, still lying on the floor. "Does anyone here know how to make music with a bottle? You know, by blowing in to it?"

"I do!" Carlos cried, beaming as he bent over to retrieve the plastic container. "I taught myself how for a project in music class one time!"

"Good, good," Kendall conceded. He moved on. "Let's see...so, we could go for accapella, but I don't know, that's a little bland. Let's toss in some..."

"I know!" Logan interrupted suddenly, sounding startled and thrilled at the same time. "I can beatbox! I could...I could stand in for the drumbeat, y'know?"

"Good idea!" James cried, clapping his friend on the back. Then he turned to Gustavo. "Anything else we could do?"

"Everything so far seems doable," the producer admitted, stroking his goatee with his fat fingers as he mulled over other possibilities. "Kendall doesn't have anything specific to do yet, so he could hum. That could serve as the bassline, I guess."

"So...now we need to write the song and organize the harmonies," Logan said. "Since I've been reading some text books on this, I was wondering...if I could compose it?"

Gustavo sighed, frowning deeply. "Alright," he grumbled at last. "But James gets to help. It's his album this'll be on."

"Thanks!" the boys all cried in unison, before trampling in to the recording booth. The producer lumbered in after them, shaking his head and looking worried. This song would certainly be the most creative so far, but would its weirdness prevent it from becoming popular? Because wasn't popularity the goal of all musicians?

Sometimes Gustavo couldn't help wondering whether the music industry today was a bit too objective.

* * *

**Kk, here's the new chappie. I'll try to get out a couple more before spring break, since it'll be harder to post then (I'm going on a trip.)**

**Btw, recently I saw a video of Kendall playing drums (during a "jam session.") Did any of you know he could do that? :D**


	14. LifeSaving Disaster

BTR had recorded the new song, and were still experimenting on it and trying to get it right, but in the meantime, they'd decided to put Logan's risky plan in to action. They all rode rented bikes to Mercede's house, lining them up against the curb, before nervously trudging up to the huge door and its bronze knocker. "Her parents are divorced; she lives with her mom. We won't find Griffin here," Logan declared while reaching upwards. His companions audibly sighed in relief. Then the knocker was brought thudding against the wooden surface.

It took a minute for someone to answer the door.

"Yes?" The girl who greeted them had wavy blonde hair, dark at the roots, so it must be dyed. There was a phony grin expertly fixed on her face. Then she noticed Logan, and immediately dropped her tiny purse to pounce on him and envelop him in a bone-crushing hug, real enthusiasm showing up on her face this time. "Logie, you're here!" she squealed. "Did you bring Mr. Poofypoofs?"

The other boys could see Logan's face where it was tucked over Mecede's shoulders, and it was the picture of guilt. There was no way he could resurrect his former girlfriend's dead gerbil, so he'd have to find a replacement. "I'll bring him back tomorrow, sweetums. But he may look a little different; it has been a few years."

"Why didn't you bring him back sooner?" Mercedes sulked. "My puppy was missing him!"

The boys all looked at each other with mixed expressions; any dog would probably try to eat the creature as soon as it scented it.

"Well...before I moved away, you asked me to take care of him, and you never asked for him back, so...I kept him!"

Mercedes turned to James as if she hadn't heard Logan's words, sizing up the tall brunette with a hungry glint in her eyes. "Who are the others?" she asked, though she had eyes only for the popstar, who smiled back at her stupidly.

Carlos introduced himself, and then Kendall opened his mouth to do the same, but Mercedes seemed to recognize him, and interrupted with a raucous laugh. "Hey, I remember you from the public pool! Don't you have a funny name? Like…Kelly?" Kendall made no effort to hide the growl vibrating from his throat.

"No," he told her impatiently. "I'm Kendall, the guitarist of-"

Logan suddenly whispered something to Kendall, who stopped to cough loudly for a full minute, although James could've sworn there was a grin on his face. Once he'd recovered, the boys changed topics and began to describe to Mercedes who James supposedly was, telling her he was a foreigner from Spain, and that his name was "Jamez."

Mercedes giggled and asked of the so-called spaniard, "So I guess that means you speak…one of the _romance _languages?" James shared a skeptical glance with Logan, nodded, then awkwardly grunted, "Er…si, senorita. Enchante."

In response to the last phrase, of course, Logan nearly choked and hissed, _"That's French, idiot!"_

But Mercedes only batted her eyelashes at James coyly; she obviously couldn't tell her languages apart. "Come inside," she said, terribly screwing up whatever accent she was trying to speak in.

Meanwhile, Carlos simply looked shocked and offended at the entire charade, shooting Logan frequent glares for having come up with James's fake identity.

Everyone headed in to what appeared to be a sitting room. Their surroundings smelled heavily of perfume, even the furniture. James took up an armchair for himself, while the other boys squeezed themselves on to a white couch, and Mercedes perched herself on a tall purple chair resembling a throne. "So...why are you here?"

"Um...I wanted my friends to see your place," Logan explained uncomfortably, before attempting a smile. "And...I was wondering whether you'd take me back, Merce."

Surprisingly, Mercedes didn't answer. She completely ignored the last part of what he'd said, asking whether the boys would like a tour of the mansion, then maybe tea and a snack. Carlos and James both offered to go along, but the blonde girl bit her lip when the latino wanted to join, asking him to fetch some cheese and crackers for everyone to eat later.

So Mercedes led James down the hall by the hand, but she stopped him when they reached a door with a star hanging on it, along with her name in cursive. "This is my bedroom," she said. "But before we go in, I'd like to...tidy up a bit."

She slipped in, and without showing him anything, could be heard bustling around for a few seconds. She returned with a fresh grin prepared on her face. "Now you can come in," she said invitingly.

James walked in and stopped, letting his "guide" go ahead. He circled on the spot, his head craned back all the way, gaping at the various decorations and things Mercedes had put everywhere. There was a huge queen bed place in the center of the room, covered in piles of stuffed animals, with a pink canopy stretched above the bedposts, and a white veil hanging down. She had pictures of herself hanging all over the walls, nearly as many times as the pictures of celebrities. The ceiling sloped up very high, leading up to a fancy chandelier with..._diamonds _on it!

But then his attention was drawn to a corner of...paper?...poking out from underneath her dresser. He walked over, bent down, and pulled it out, only to find that it was a poster, clumsily stuffed in to hiding. But what was more important was its focus. A shirtless photo of James from a photoshoot he remembered going to a year ago, his hair combed in sweeping motions and his eyelashes darkened by makeup, his face whitened as well. So articifical. He found himself frowning and critiquing himself, the pose he stood in and the overexpressive face he wore, before realizing what the existance of such a poster in such a place...meant.

It meant that Mercedes knew who he truly was. With such a useful piece of information now stored in his mind, James realized that the whole time, the girl had been trying to get at him. To steal him away from Carlos. She wasn't interested in Logan, only the famous popstar.

Could this "life-saving" plan really be turning in to such a disaster?

* * *

**It was a bit hard to get this out, but I wasn't coming up with anything good, and I've been on vacation. Hope the Mercedes stuff is making this fanfic a bit more exciting. Anyway, please review!**


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